Ads On Instagram Are About To Get A Lot Longer

Yesterday, T-Mobile debuted its Super Bowl ad featuring Drake. BuzzFeed described it as "perfect." Today, T-Mobile posted another version of the same ad on Instagram and it's 30 seconds longer than the TV spot

The Drake ad is the first of two promoted videos launching on Instagram today that signal a change for the social network: it is now extending the maximum length for ads on the platform to 60 seconds from 30. In other words, brands can now post videos that are four times the length of those posted by Instagram users, which are currently capped at 15 seconds.

This newly extended video length, which Instagram first tested with a promotion for the movie "How To Be Single," should help the company compete for TV ad dollars. That's Instagram's thinking, anyway. Note the prominent mention of the Super Bowl in the canned statement below.

"Instagram is a great place to capture people's imagination leading into big moments like the Super Bowl or a movie premiere," James Quarl, Instagram's global head of business and brand development, said in a statement. "With nearly half of Instagrammers following businesses, 60-second video gives brands more creative flexibility to reach people that want to be inspired.”

Brendan Klinkenberg is a tech reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in San Francisco.